Bottle shared at the BFD Christmas party.Cloudy amber color with a minimal head.Aroma is heavy on the vanilla sugar and cinnamon. The flavor follows the aroma. This was entirely too sweet for my palette. I'm glad to have tried it, but I'm also glad I didn't have to drink it alone. (286 characters)

The beer is copper hued with ruby highlights. An inch or so of off white head with plenty of staying power. The aroma offers a huge dose of sweet vanilla, cinnamon, butterscotch candies, booze. Smells as advertised - like an alcoholic horchata. Overly sweet and cloying. A fun idea, but the sweetness combined with alcohol is just too much. (340 characters)

T: Big creamy sweet lactose and vanilla, cinnamon and Christmas spices, with some bready malts underneath. I don't get anything I could identify as rice. It finishes with more vanilla sweetness with a pinch of spice.

M: Full-bodied but still has a thin mouthfeel. Low carbonation sensation, though not quite flat. Modest alcohol presence.

O: This isn't offensive, but I don't find it particularly drinkable. I think a three-ounce taster would have been enough to see that it's a beer with some interesting flavors, and then been done with it. In the end, I couldn't make it through even my half-bottle pour before sharing it with the drain. Just too sweet and not enough complexity to make it worth pushing through. (986 characters)

Poured out of a 750ml bottle into a teku glass. Split with friends as I expect this to be sweet. Bottling date is listed as "6/18/13," so a little old at this point.

Pours a much darker color than expected - rather than a pale, straw blond color that I anticipated, this was far more darkened and amber tinged, with slight notes of orange at the sides. Maintains a fizzy, slightly bubbly head at the top that eventually dissipates into a modest ring without leaving too much lacing behind. Definitely looks thick with all of the sugars added in the brewing process, but alas, the ABV is notably low as far as The Bruery's beers go and it's not as hearty looking. A pretty unassuming appearance here, especially considering the recipe at hand.

Smells ridiculously sweet - even more than I anticipated it. It definitely REMINDS me of horchata (which, when done correctly, is one of my favorite drinks), but there's definitely a lot more sweetened, pastry-like conditions at play here. Notes of caramel, butterscotch, caramel, toffee, and then (finally) some cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and baking soda. Some fruitiness, I suppose (ranging from stone fruit to apples - maybe), and definitely some grainy and bready consistency in the mix, but the sugars are enormously overpowering, even here. I hope it doesn't end up being a booze or sugar bomb.

Ahhh!! Definitely a butterscotch and toffee bomb as the beer immediately hits the palate. Sweet caramel and sugar cane follow right away. Notes of vanilla beans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and apples come in afterwards. This is not like horchata at all, but far more similar to the sweetness and feel of arroz con leche (rice pudding) or Mexican-style flan. Luckily, there's a chewy, thick backbone that elevates that flavor to the point that it really DOES resemble a hearty dessert of sorts (indeed, the flan-like texture is astonishing), and while it's definitely refreshing in terms of carbonation and feel, it's pretty goddamn sweet.

Luckily, this paired amazingly well with spicy food, as any great dessert wine does - the sweetness would cut the spiciness and leave behind a playful and warm, toasty caramel and honey finish that made it fabulous for the occasion. Definitely not recommended on its own unless you enjoy the sensation of slowly acquiring diabetes, and far better paired with either spicy Mexican or Thai food. I heard from an acquaintance that this fell off in quality about a month in - and I can tell. This does remind me of a rather sweet, shake-like horchata I had in SD earlier this year. Otherwise, it's definitely not the most practical offering but it definitely was worth trying. (2,651 characters)

Pours medium dark amber. Fairly cloudy but pretty far from opaquely so. Small to medium off white head, mostly dies off after a minute or two. The aroma is heavy on vanilla and ground rice. The cinnamon provides some depth and spice, as with the beer's inspiration. It smells about as close to Mexican-style horchata as I can imagine for a beer. A relatively mild boozy note. Smells a little syrupy, though less maple and more agave or simple syrupy. The taste is somewhat sweet with a lot of that same vanilla rice flavor. It's rich but also somewhat cloying. Lots of funny sweetness in the finish with a light boozy note. It's not altogether heavy on the palate but it is rather heavy for the abv. I would guess that this beer would be a mess at ~10% abv. It's an interesting beverage, and I applaud the effort, but it's not altogether pleasant to drink. It's like boozy horchata, which isn't something that I particularly like, I guess. Improves as it warms, but still, I would have preferred to split this one with a group and just get a taster's worth. (1,057 characters)

A: Pours a murky dirty dish water color with a thick off-white head that faded into a thin fuzzy collar.S: Dominating lactose sugar nose with a touch of caramel and dulce de leche. Slight vanilla.T: Follows the nose with flavors of lactose milk sugar, vanilla bean, dulce de leche and just a hint of cinnamon up front. Blond ale grain bill pokes through in the finish. The aftertaste is sugary and sweet with a faint hint of booze.M: Thick body, very full and creamy mouthfeel, with soft frothy carbonation.O: Not perfect but I can definitely see what they were going for. Creamy and delicious for dessert. (639 characters)

Nose is really interesting, lots of vanilla and cinnamon, caramel galore, my brain wants to think apple but none, flan thick sweet candy, tons of candied aromas but not burnt, but dulce de leche sweet creamy. Cinnamon and vanilla stick through it all.

Taste is super sweet like maple syrup, very syrupy, I want it on pancakes. Plenty more cinnamon in there again but not spicy cinnamon, candy like, lots of caramel again, so much candy syrup. Mild vanilla in there, more maple creams, fairly creamy too with light rice pudding, light warning apple. Finish is sweet and sticky, plenty more maple candy, caramel, light cinnamon and vanilla.

Overall, ehhhh, I want to like this, it has the flavors you'd expect, but for me who doesn't eat or drink anything sweet, it's hard to get through more than a sip or two. However, this with dessert, or mixed in ice cream or pancakes yum. (1,116 characters)

Pours a clear gold with a foamy bone head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, vanilla, cinnamon, and spice aromas. Taste is much the same with vanilla, cinnamon, and horchata flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium body mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is more horchata like in the taste versus the smell. (594 characters)

Thanks to Stakem for sharing this unique brew,enjoyed with Mandy and August drank chilled from a flute.

The color is deep medium brown with hazed look and thick white cap with fine bead, no lace is left and retention is ok. The smell is nice, lots of spice with a faint sweet aroma, mild alcohol esters with a mellow floral aspect, subtle vanilla and yeast adds a fruity essence. The feel is decent with moderate carbonation and mild sweetness with moderately spiced texture and somewhat high alcohol for the style.

The taste is unusual but good, pretty interesting considering the origin of the idea, I have made horchata and shared with others who enjoy this specialty and it is not exactly what you would expect- I think the flavor of the alcohol is what seems to distract from the drink it pays tribute to. I understand the brewer who created this is not known for low alcohol versions of any style, but to me the spice is the best part of the taste a little less rice tangy-ness may have helped. I think this is pretty decent for what it is, but to me it missed the mark if Horchata or Or xata is what they wanted to pay tribute to. I think for a first taste of anything remotely similar to the original beverage it is better than average. Thanks again Adam, so glad I got to try this! (1,300 characters)

A: Looks like an IPA in the glass. Opaque deep orange color. Can't see much through it. Nice full finger of off white head. Faded quickly into a thin layer.

S: Definitely pulling that spice note from the cinnamon, mixing with sweet vanilla. Sweet creamy hints from the added lactose? As it warms it almost smells like a candle to me.

T: Tip of the tongue, hit with that cinnamon spice. As the sip progresses into the middle of the mouth you get that Belgian blonde aspect of it mixed with the vanilla. The lactose and rice work to make the mouthfeel almost creamy. Finish isn't dry, because of the lingering sweetness.

M: Big medium because of how creamy and full the lactose makes it. (719 characters)

Quarter finger head on a hazy copper body with nice lacing. Aroma is a bit light but what's there is nice with gingerbread, cinnamon rum, vanilla, caramel and butterscotch. The flavor follows with a stronger presence which for me is a little too unbalanced and sweet with again butterscotch, vanilla, rum, toffee and caramel with light malt presence. Medium body and moderate carbonation. This one isn't bad but it doesn't really appeal to my beer tastes. That being said you can still tell its a well brewed beer. (514 characters)

o - Overall a very interesting beer that smells and tastes good, in small quantities, and I imagine is exactly what they were going for. If I had a 2 oz. pour of this is at a festival, or a 4oz. pour as part of a flight, I could find myself really liking this one even more, but trying to take down half a bottle got a little rough on the back end of the glass, as it is very sweet. Worth checking out, and goes well with Mexican food, but share the bottle with 3-4 other people. (1,096 characters)

Poured into Bruery snifter. Appearance is clear gold with minimal head and no lacing. The nose is very sweet. Notes of brown sugar, cinnamon, and caramel come first followed by heavy vanilla character. Taste is super sweet up front with notes of burnt sugar, mild cinnamon, sweet cream, and caramel. The flavor is reminiscent of horchata, but I'd say this beer comes off a few degrees more sweet than most horchatas. Mouthfeel is bordering on syrupy with moderate carbonation. Overall, the Bruery did a good job of translating the delicious Mexican beverage into beer form. The resulting beer is very sweet and serves as more of a dessert drink than anything else. (664 characters)

Great scent of horchata with a big vanilla nose. Golden body that drinks quite smooth. There is a sweet bite at the beginning for me. The vanilla really takes over but you get a roundness from the rice. I'm not getting a ton of cinnamon which might add a little more depth. Really fun to try, but quite sweet. (309 characters)

A- Pours a translucent brownish, orange gold with about a half finger's white head that recedes to a thin layer leaving behind some spotty lacing. Fairly carbonated with a lot of small carbonation bubbles rising fairly fast.

S- Tons of cinnamon, a decent amount of vanilla bean that conflicts with the blonde ale aroma to create a weird slightly off-putting aroma, the rice doesn't contribute too much to the aroma. Fairly aromatic, but not a huge fan.

T- Creamy rice pudding topped with cinnamon, vanilla beans add a nice flavor balancing with the rice qualities, blonde ale aspect with a hint of bitterness hidden on the background and comes out a bit on the finish. This beer tastes extremely unique and quite tasty especially if you like rice pudding (which I definitely do). Overall the taste makes up for what the aroma is definitely lacking.

O- I'm not a huge fan of blonde ales however Or Xata does not taste anything like a typical blonde ale and is extremely unique nailing what they are going for. The aroma was way too sweet and unbalanced with too much cinnamon and sweet vanilla bean. However the taste (in my opinion) was as spot on as it could be with nice vanilla bean qualities balanced with a pinch of cinnamon and rice pudding. Overall if you love rice pudding and unique beers I'd definitely check this beer out, if you don't I'd probably stay away. (1,488 characters)

Hazy-ish, light copper. Very thin head with a few bubbles lingering on the side, but this is not lacing.

This smells like a rice, cinnamon, vanilla ice cream. I am not a huge Horchata fan, but this smells like a Horchata dessert. A Horchata float. Smells on the sweet side.

This taste is Horchata. Lots of vanilla and rice. Not quite as sweet as the smell. This gets better with every sip. The bottles says drink fresh, but this is almost two month old now (bottle 6/19/13). I imagine the taste is even more spot on Horchata coming off the bottling line. All the cinnamon comes on the finish.

Mouthfeel is creamy. Cream soda with lighter carbonation. Nice.

Overall, while I don't love Horchata, this beer is right on the money. They made Horchata into a beer! The bottle calls this a blonde beer, but it is what it is. Great experimental brew (odd, but tasty). (905 characters)

A: poured into a tulip to a deep orange with a small fluffy off white head that fades quickly to a collar around the edge of the glassS: smells of vanilla and cinnamonT: tastes of vanilla, and cinnamon with some creamy sweetness. very impressive. Slight hint of some bitterness but mostly the flavors of horchata. Swallow is more vanilla, sweetness, and cinnamonM: full and creamy on the palate with soft but adequate carbonation and a refreshing finishO: This beer hit the marks they were going for and I'm sure fresh the vanilla was much more apparent. Very well crafted and very well done. I don't know if we'll be seeing this one again but I wouldn't be opposed to it. (676 characters)

The body has a creamy feel to it, with flavors of vanilla and a lactose sweetness. A grainy essence comes up, with a huge, spicy bite of cinnamon and cloves. There’s a thin-bodied, rice flavor towards the end, with a lingering sweetness, but with a somewhat dry finish from the carbonation.

This beer really does what it sets out to accomplish, and drinks exactly like an alcoholic horchata. This is an even better option to pair with Mexican food, as well as being a great summertime beer. I'd love to have a 4 pack of tallboys for a day at the beach. (848 characters)

750ml poured into a matching Bruery snifter. The brew appears a sort of tea to copper orange color with lighter yellow around the edges. A vigorous pour yields a finger of khaki head that fades back to a thin film.

The aroma is sweet almost like cream soda but with some vanilla and very mild cinnamon spice. At times it almost has a sort of orange marmalade character going on which is strange, yet enjoyable.

The taste is sweet with vanilla and a hint of beet sugar. Mild cinnamon spice and an overall flavor profile that seems more like a cream soda than a beer. As it warms up, a very mild sort of belgian yeast/clove spice emerges along with a complimenting fruitiness mildly reminiscent of pear/apple skins.

This is a medium to lighter bodied brew with a very mild amount of carbonation. Having never had the drink that is the inspiration for this brew, I dont know how to grade this. I will say though that this pretty much drinks exactly as advertised with the listed ingredients. Quite unique and worth a try. I just have a difficult time scoring this since it is unlike anything ive had before and really just isnt beer-like in any way. (1,149 characters)

Shared thanks the Mac, thanks man. This is a hard drink to rate as a beer persay, but as a drink it captures the original splendidly.

The beer has a great balance with the added ingredients, with the vanilla and cinnamon working great with the barrel, all in harmony. Both the smell and taste are great, it reminds me in many ways of a natural cola with vanilla beans or almost like a rum and coke in the best way if that makes sense. The carbonation even furthers this take on it since it has plenty of carbonation supporting the body of the beer. In a lot of ways, the aroma especially reminds me of a nice cool chai which it find very nice.

Overall an interesting and cool achievement by the bruery. A blond ale? No. But a cool drink? Definitely. It is refreshing and nice especially when the weather is getting hotter. (826 characters)

750mL bottle acquired through the Reserve Society. Bottled 6/18/13. Served in a Bruery snifter.

Pours a golden tan hue with almost two fingers of dense near white head. Head fades to a thick halo that laces well.

Smells of sweet cream, vanilla and a little cinnamon spice. Yum.

Soft vanilla ice cream, cinnamon and gingerbread cookie with just a slight tickle of alcohol. Very easy to drink.

Creamy medium feel with just a tad more carbonation than I'd prefer for the body. Sweet, smooth gingerbread finish.

This is really good. And goes down super easily. I finished a whole bottle in less than a half hour like it was nothing (and felt the subsequent buzz). A slightly different beer- I'd almost say it's like a blonde version of a gingerbread stout. Worth a try for sure. (784 characters)